It Only Takes a Moment
by iBeastBoy
Summary: In only a moments time everything you know can change. A life risking decision is made without a thought as our favorite changeling puts himself in harms way for the love of another.
1. Chapter 1

Title: It Only Takes a Moment

Summary: When Beast Boy risks his life to save that of another his world is turned upside down. Friends realize it only takes a moment for your life to change for better or for worse. What does this heroic deed have to do with the caring thoughts and love of another?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

* * *

><p>"<em>It was just an ordinary day in Jump City. The sky was free of clouds and a light breeze blew in between the buildings. People were going about their daily lives, wandering carelessly between the towering structures that loomed high above their heads. The reason? They knew they were safe. They had their own secret weapon. The Teen Titans."<em>

A knock came at the door startling the green changeling who sat at his desk. "Yea?" he called, hurrying to shove his scribbles and notes away in the drawer. The door opened with a slight swoosh as the leader of the team walked through the doorway.

"Beast Boy, you've got a patrol in 20 minutes, get yourself ready to relieve Raven at the south end." The leader stated flatly.

"Yea yea, I know… I've got a clock see?" Beast Boy pointed over to his shelf where a small clock sat, it's screen a bit cracked from the morning snooze poundings it received from its owner. The masked titan nodded and turned to leave, "Good." was all he said before walking out.

Beast Boy sighed, he didn't really care to patrol the city today, in fact he would've been happy to just sit around and work on his comic book. Lately he had begun to write a mini-series based on the titans-of course the others weren't aware and never really paid attention to him doodling on napkins when they went to eat pizza. "Well, time to get going" he said to no one, listening to the sound of his voice. Recently it had deepened just a tad and he had grown a bit taller-Not enough though to outgrow Raven. He was still the shortest titan. The boy grabbed a fresh uniform out of his closet and tossed it on, grabbed his communicator from his desk, and headed out.

The green bird approached the girl floating above him on one of the cities skyscrapers, she was sitting in a lotus position, Meditating as she carefully watched the city below. With a quick caw he morphed back into his human form and sat below her on the rooftop.

"Hey Rae, how goes the patrol?" he asked her, not really interested in the boringness of watching the city but feeling the need to converse with her. The dark girl peeked to where the green boys voice came from. "It's Raven." reprimanded the half demon. A snuff could be heard from the changeling, "The patrol is fine as you can see." she added calmly. She began to descend to his level, sitting next to him on the roof, "Your turn to patrol?" she asked. Beast Boy nodded. The two sat on the roof for a bit in silence, the breeze running through the green boy's messy hair and causing the girls cape to flutter slightly.

He felt his eyes wander from the city to the girl sitting next to him, he slightly wondered why she was still sitting here since she really didn't care to be in his company but he shrugged it off, "Hey Rae," he said, disregarding her earlier comment, "Wanna hear my new joke?" He flashed her a toothy grin. Raven rolled her eyes, "No Beast Boy, I really don't want to hear one of your horrible jokes, I was rather enjoying sitting here in silence." Beast Boy looked at his feet, feeling sort of defeated. The changeling scooted closer to the edge of the building, letting his legs dangle off. "Oh… okay." he mumbled, not really too put off as she rarely listened or enjoyed his jokes.

Beast Boy scratched his head, grinning to himself, "So…. What did Batman say to Robin before they got into the car?" He turned his head, wiggling his eyebrows at Raven, She shook her head, "I told you I don't want to hear your jokes." she was silent for a moment, "…. fine. What did Batman say?" Beast Boy laughed, he knew he got her, "He said… Robin get in the car!" He smiled the biggest cheesiest smile he could muster and waited for that small smirk she was known to give. "That was stupid." came instead, he merely shrugged. "Rae, you just need to learn to get a sense of humor!" he told her.

"Oh, I've got a sense of humor Beast Boy…" she replied, "Oh, do you now Raven? I don't think I've seen you do funny." The green boy poked. An odd look was given to him, "You want to see? Fine." The dark girl used her powers to shove him off the building, She stood up to see him failing about only to find his bearings and turn into a butterfly. He flew back up to the top of the building and grabbed on with his front feet, morphing back into a human. A smirk sat on the face of the empath.

"DUDE! That was NOT funny!" he spat out between deep breaths, "You coulda killed me!" As he pulled himself up he felt the building vibrate, "Rae was that you?" He looked to the girl who was starring down below as he clambered back onto the roof. Raven looked at him, "While you're cracking pathetic jokes you've let a criminal get past your view, I'm calling Robin."

At first Beast Boy was confused, he hadn't seen a villain, hadn't smelt a villain, and with his keen hearing hadn't heard a villain. That was not normal. "Raven, I don't see anybody down there!" He said to here while he glanced over the side of the building, trying desperately to see something. Instead all he saw was giant patches of the ground shaking and cracking.

Raven pulled up her hood, "Let's go, Robin is on his way." she command, flying ahead of him, He nodded and morphed into a pterodactyl. When he got to the sidewalk the other titans had arrived. Robin took charge, directing his team where to go. "Raven, locate whatever it is and make it seen! We gotta take this thing DOWN." He yelled, throwing a finger in the direction of the thing. The empath nodded and flew after the growing sidewalk cracks. Cyborg was firing his arm cannon in random directions to try to get a hit, and Starfire was getting civilians out of the way. The green titan felt sort of lost, but figured he'd make himself useful. "Robin! I'll try to find the vibrations of it with my feet!" he called, morphing into an elephant. The leader just ran past with a nod and a quick flick of his bo-staff in the direction of Starfire.

The odd scene of four titans and a giant green elephant chasing after nothing would be rather amusing, had it been acting. But this was their real life. The giant mammal stood still, concentrating on the ground, He could feel small vibrations but nothing noteworthy. He morphed back into a human to find Raven had located the source of their invisible attacker. Cinderblock, with some strange cloaking device. Seeing the villain come into view gave him an advantage, the others were doing their jobs and he was going to do his. "RHINO COMING THROUGH!" he exclaimed before turning into a rhino and charging the massive stone creature. With a powerful crash Beast Boy had sent Cinderblock flying into a towering apartment complexes lobby, causing the occupants above to scream. The brick-brained monster merely got up and ran towards the titans.

Raven gave the green changeling a glare, "Look what you've done! We need to get them down." she spat at him, flying over to retrieve the people who were now trapped in the upper levels of their house. Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire had engaged in taking down Cinderblock while the green boy joined Raven in their task to free people. When all but a few remained he turned to see the others had detained their stoned enemy and were waiting for the Jump City PD to take him away. Something was off though. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel it. In the pit of his stomach he could feel panic rising. Quickly, Beast Boy turned into an elephant again, trying to feel for more vibrations. "_Nothing…. Nothing… THERE!_" Within seconds he could feel panic turn to fear as he looked to see exactly what was happening, Before his green eyes he watched as the apartment building began to collapse. "_Raven!_" Without hesitation he morphed into his regular form, "RAVEN! LOOK OUT!" He screamed, trying his best to get to her. Distracted, Raven had hold of two citizens, both looking above them in fear as a giant piece of the building was falling.

"Raven, MOVE!". It was the last thing he said. It was as if everything at that moment happened in slow motion. The girl had felt something smash into her side, pushing her out of harms way. The citizens fell to the ground next to her, debris falling around and onto them. A brick from the complex crashed into Ravens leg, however the pain was nothing compared to watching an entire building collapse onto a small green figure…

"**GARFIELD!**"

* * *

><p>So this is just a random tidbit of something that's been boiling in my head for a while. I've got a few chapters already written out and finished so I will be uploading those soon :)<p>

R&R! :D


	2. Chapter 2

Dust settled as the echo of the buildings crash faded into the surrounding city. Raven looked to the people lying next to her, they were scared and had some scratches but seemed okay, Her leg however had taken a beating from a stray brick. "Robin, Where are you?" she cried out for her leader, "Beast Boy?" she asked, hoping for a response. She couldn't see or sense Beast Boy, the last she had seen of him was underneath the buildings hulking shadow. Thoughts began to race through her head, "_Maybe he had gotten hurt? or worse. Maybe he was crush- No. Don't think that way Raven… He's Beast Boy, he probably flew out of the way…._" She had to stop herself. She began to crawl towards the dismantled building, calling out and searching for her team-mate all the while.

"Raven? Where are you?" The empath turned to see Robin running towards her with Starfire and Cyborg in tow, "Robin, I'm here!" she replied, waiting for them to reach her. The concerned look on her teams faces and the lack of Beast Boy worried her, "Robin, Beast Boy and I- We were trying to- and then, the building started to fall and- and he pushed me out of the way…" Robin embraced the girl in his arms, "Robin… I can't sense him."

Robin pulled out of his hug, "Raven, what do you mean? Cyborg-see if you can get a lock on him. He's probably out of there." the masked titan ordered with a bit of worry lacing his voice. He hoped Raven's powers were just weakened right now with the scare they just had. She was almost crushed by a building. Cyborg nodded, "Robin, I can't get a lock on his communicator…." He looked to Raven, concern in his human eye, 'Raven, where… was he last? You need to show me." Raven pointed, "There… I was standing there and…" she couldn't continue. With a nod Cyborg ran over to the area where the changelings last location was known and began to dig through the rubble.

"Starfire, I need you to take the civilians to the hospital and then get Raven to the infirmary, we need to get her leg fixed up." The leader told his team, noticing the swelling around Ravens ankle. "No, I need to stay here Robin, for Beast Boy. I will help find him." Raven said defiantly, Starfire nodded "Robin, I feel it is in our best interest if Raven stays and continues the search for Beast Boy. I fear without her we may run out of time." With that the alien girl flew towards the civilians. Silently Raven thanked Starfire for allowing Robin no time to refuse, she created herself an energy disc and floated to where Cyborg was searching.

Hours went by and the team wasn't making much progress. Metal rod after chunk of building seemed to be the only things they were finding. Using her powers Raven was slowly growing tired but couldn't give up the search, couldn't give up on him. "_How could he just willingly put himself in harms way for me?_" she kept thinking, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted, "ROBIN! RAVEN! OVER HERE!" The two titans could see Cyborg begin to frantically try to move a large piece of concrete, "He's here! I can see his hand, he's here!" a tear was forming at the base of his eye, the worry for his brother showing. "Raven, get over here and help me move this! HURRY."

Raven made her way to where Cyborg was in record time, the concrete chunk was huge but somehow Cyborg was moving it. The two titans used their powers to slowly move away the bulk of the building while Robin called Starfire to have her setup the infirmary for Beast Boy, Until they could see him there would be no telling what condition he was in. It had to be bad for him to not be able to move or dig himself out.

"Beast Boy, it's me Raven… Answer me Beast Boy." no response was given, "Cyborg hurry we gotta move this." the robotic titan just nodded, trying his best to move things without causing other debris to fall into the hole they were creating. A gasp could be heard from him as he found the limp body of the green boy. "Raven! Get over here quick!" he demanded to her, now tossing stuff away. When she got to the side he was on her heart stopped. Laying in the mess covered in rubble, cuts, and lots of blood was the unconscious body of Beast Boy. "No…." she reached down to touch his face, "Beast Boy…. Beast Boy? Talk to me please, you need to wake up!" But there was no response. His ears were flat against his head with his eyes closed, a trickle of blood flowing freely from a deep cut on his forehead.

Her emotions got the better of her, letting tears stream down her face she hurried alongside Cyborg to remove the debris and free him. Chunks of bricks and remnants of the tenants house items were tossed and blown up from her powers, she didn't care though. This was her fault. He saved her. "_If only I wasn't standing there…. If only I wasn't being so stupid, and the last thing I said to him…._" too many things ran through her mind, her emotions running rampant. Cyborg removed the last bit of metal barb that had jabbed into the side of the green boy, blood running down his mechanical fingers. "We've got to get him home. NOW." Slowly Raven pulled Beast Boy out and held his body close to her, trying to find a bit of life left in him. "I can't teleport him but I'll fly him home." The girl said before thinking about it, She was tired but Beast Boy needed help, he was dying and it was her fault. She flew towards the tower with his body clutched close to hers, "I'm sorry Garfield… I'm so so sorry…."


	3. Chapter 3

"_Beep...Beep...Beep..." _

A steady beeping could be heard throughout the infirmary and down the hall in Titans Tower. The place had been used before many times, but not for something like this. Giant display screens lined the walls behind the makeshift hospital, each one monitoring a different part of the changelings system. It had taken Cyborg a while to stitch up and stabilize the green boy who lay deathly still throughout the whole ordeal.

"_Beep...Beep...Beep..." _

The beeping. It was strangely somewhat calming, the steady rhythm confirming the youngest member of the team was still with them with each sound it produced. Twice Cyborg had almost lost him, somehow bringing his battered body back to life. When the empath had arrived to the tower with Beast Boy in her arms she couldn't help but say a silent prayer to Azar, pleading that Beast Boy would be spared for his selfless action. With her powers drained it took everything she had to wait for Cyborg to arrive back at the infirmary and start fixing Beast Boy up. If it wasn't for Starfires constant encouragement and pleading with the empath to let Cyborg take charge Raven could've passed out from the exhaustion of using her powers to heal him. The alien girl convinced her somehow that her powers and emotions weren't stable enough to fix him the right way. Deep down Raven knew Star was right and could only wait.

"_Beep...Beep...Beep..." _

Raven now sat next to Beast Boys bed, holding his hand firmly in hers. She looked to him, trying to imagine what it felt like to be crushed by a building. He had three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, multiple cuts covering his entire body, a huge gash through his eyebrow, a crushed wrist, a fractured leg, and a huge loss of blood. He looked so small and helpless, hooked up to multiple tubes running this way and that. His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath he took, another sign that the boy was still breathing. The empath gently ran her free hand through his matted hair, "Beast Boy..." she whispered to him, "Please be okay, please come back to us... come back to me.". Anxiously she waited, hoping slightly for a sign of life or a sign that he even heard her. She could sense he was lost in a deep sleep and couldn't help but feel responsible.

"_Beep...Beep...Beep..." _

Throughout the rest of the day Cyborg and Robin had checked in, making sure that Beast Boy was stable and that the medications Cyborg had administered were helping keep the pain reduced. Robin had left the city in charge of the cleanup, worried for his teams mental and emotional states. He knew they couldn't clean the mess up, knowing Beast Boys blood was smeared into the mess. Starfire had came by with some tea and soup for Raven in hopes she would eat. Not that the empath would admit it but Star knew she was worried about Beast Boy, granted they all were, but Raven the most. The others could tell the way she looked at him, the way she stayed by his side the entire day, and as tired as she was, didn't leave him to sleep.

"_Beep...Beep...Beep..." _

Raven looked over his fragile broken body, "I should be able to heal you... I should be strong enough...I should've paid attention," she continued to tell him, "Damn it Garfield! why did you have to push me out of the way?" the girl squeezed his hand, Sadness and exhaustion overcame her. She knew she needed rest in order to heal some of his minor injuries which could ease some of his pain. Before she could think about anything else she began to doze off, listening to the steady beeping that resounded off the walls, hand in hand with the changeling.


	4. Chapter 4

Raven was woken up by a multitude of sounds, all produced from one source. Beast Boy's body was failing to keep a hold on life. She watched as Cyborg rushed in to aid, trying to stabilize the green boy. "Raven, I need pressure on this cut, NOW!" He commanded, bringing her out of her daze. She swiftly grabbed some gauze and held it against his forehead, she wondered how it had reopened and what was going on. Different problems kept arising on the monitors and the robotic titan cursed each one. He couldn't understand it. How were his machines failing to bring back the one person that kept the team together? They needed to work. Needed to save him. Robin and Starfire had rushed in, concerned from all the alarms calling throughout the tower. Starfire was put to work talking to Beast Boy, her pleas filling the infirmary. She tried to make him laugh, tried to many him do anything, but he didn't.

Robin just watched, he knew interfering would risk Beast Boys unstable condition and that was a risk he didn't want to take. Silently he willed his friend on. He too, could not understand Beast Boys selfless actions amidst the earlier battle, it wasn't like him to take risks that weren't needed. A brief smile crossed the leaders face as he came to the realization that the green boy had grown up sometime during those last few moments in battle. He had done what a hero was meant to do. He saved someone. It wasn't the fact that he has saved just anyone either, He had saved Raven. Somewhere in that immature head of the grass stain he had regarded the life of his own teammate more than his own to act upon it when it was needed most. Even if he was laying on here in this hospital bed fighting for his life Robin was proud of Beast Boy.

Cyborg had done what he could but no matter what he did, it wasn't helping. The titans watched helplessly as Beast Boy fell slowly into a deep coma. Robin sat at the end of the bed, a hand covering his face and Starfire had taken to holding Beast Boys free hand, willing her friend to come back. The metal titan stopped what he was doing and gave a defeated grunt. "There's nothing I can do now... damn grass stain won't respond to anything." he turned, slamming a fist into the wall.

Raven sighed, this couldn't happen, he couldn't be stuck in a coma. She knew she had to find a way to bring him back. Almost as if he was reading her mind the teams leader looked to her, "Raven, remember that time you came into my mind... and... you saw Slade?" The empath nodded, "Well, maybe you could somehow get into Beast Boy's mind, find him or something?" through his mask Raven knew he was pleading for any sort of rescue for the changeling. "Robin, I've never ventured into anyone elses' mind. It's invading them, taking away their most personal thoughts...I don't even know how to get into Beast Boys mind." She was trying to find a way around it, there had to be another way besides going inside whatever was going on inside the changeling. Who knew what was in there. It wasn't something she wanted to think about, but she knew there wasn't another way. She might just be the only one to save him, "Raven, he put his line on the life for you, even if you can't bring him back at least go and tell him what he needs to hear," Robin said softly to her, "tell him whatever happens we'll never forget what he's done."

She looked to the monitors, showing no brain activity, no source of life really showing at all-save for the few machines keeping his body going. "I'll try, but no matter what you do you must not move him, do not move my body, and if there is a problem you need to call to me through him." she stated with a gesture towards the boy. "Unlike your mind Robin, Beast Boy is more animal than human, I have no idea what I'm going into. None of us know much about his past and that could be a major problem once I'm inside. If I'm unable to do anything or get inside I'm going to have to come back and there'll be nothing we can do." She didn't want to think about that outcome but had to lay the truth on the line. The others nodded, Cyborg was the only one to speak up, "Raven, be careful in there... That beast is still inside of him and if that's loose in his mind... Don't get hurt. We don't need both of you down." The empath nodded, understanding him fully.

The team pulled over the other bed to sit right next to Beast Boys, allowing a place for Ravens body to stay while her soul-self searched the reaches of the changelings mind. She sat in a lotus position and locked her hand with Beast Boys. She began to chant her mantra, calming herself and preparing for what laid ahead. Raven closed her eyes and with a few more chants she let her soul-self loose.


	5. Chapter 5

_"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..._" The team watched as Raven swiftly moved her soul-self towards the body of Beast Boy, entering it almost at once.

Something was wrong. Everything was dark, There was no noise, and it was cold. Raven searched and called out for the green titan but she couldn't find anything. She began to fly deeper into his mind and then things began to change. Wild noises could be heard, the rustle of leaves, and- wait, rustling leaves? Raven began to pay more attention to her surroundings as the light began to shift. She was in the middle of a jungle. Somehow expecting nothing but emptiness she was surprised to see trees, a river, and what looked like a small cabin up ahead. Had Beast Boy really created a whole jungle in his mind? Somehow it was fitting. He was a whole kingdom of animals in one, she smiled a bit, knowing the place he thoughts came to was exactly what she should've expected.

Large trees with hanging vines filled the skyline for as far as she could see and the small campsite had the remains of people living there. She glided towards it and noticed a faint smell of a home-cooked meal and could see a few scattered toys here and there. "_Odd,_" she thought, "_Why would Beast Boy have these kind of places in his mind?"_ She couldn't quite figure it out. Raven descended in the middle of the little camp, taking in what was around. Little plastic animals and books were all over the dirt, little roads where a jeep had drove past the miniature safari that was setup, and a stuffed monkey that held two cymbals... "_That looks familiar._" she thought as she picked it up, she began to look carefully at the monkey realizing it looked just like the one that had fell out of Beast Boys closet a few years back. "PUT HIM DOWN!" Startled she dropped the monkey, causing it to clash it's cymbals in an undesirable clang. She looked around, powers at the ready, expecting to be attacked. "Who said that? Who's there?" She yelled out, trying to sound dangerous, "Go away!" the small voice said again, this time giving away it's location. Raven looked to the cabins porch to see a small boy, no more than four or five crouched underneath with a tattered elephant clutched to his chest. "Go away or my dad will get you!" he told her again, backing as far away from the new scary intruder as he could. Realizing his fear she lowered her hands, letting her powers subside, "Beast Boy? Is that you?" she asked, walking closer towards the cabin, "GO away! Leave me alone!" the boy screamed, fear of the dark girl obvious. Raven shook her head, "I'm not going to hurt you," she knelt down on the ground, facing the boy under his hiding spot, "My friend is lost and I'm trying to find him... Maybe you could help me?" she asked. She could feel his uneasiness and couldn't blame him. "_This is odd, why is there a little boy in Beast Boys mind?_" she thought to herself, hoping to figure out an answer.

"H-How did you friend get here? No one can get here..." he said shakily, "Only mommy and daddy knows how to get here!". He clung to the elephant, trying to reason with the intruder that she was out of place. He didn't know weather or not to trust her. Raven sensed his worries and although she wasn't about to give him a hug she had to find some way of encouraging him to come out. He might know something. She thought back to what Beast Boy had told her about watching kids. She though of Melvin, Timmy, and Bobby and smiled. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." backing a little ways away from the boy as to not corner him so much, "Do you like jokes?" she hoped so, this was Beast Boys mind after all, maybe one of his crummy jokes would make this little imaginary boy feel better. The boy loosed his strangling hold on the stuffed toy, "y-yes..." he mumbled, still not looking her in the eye. "Why did the cookie go to the doctor? Because he was feeling crummy" she quickly told the boy. A familiar laugh came from him, followed by a small familiar smile, "T-that was funny, do you know anymore?" He crept closer to her but still didn't come out of his hiding spot completely, "Yes," Raven nodded, "I know a few more, If you help me find my friend he can tell you a whole bunch of stu-uh, Silly jokes." she corrected herself, no reason to make the little boy scared again.

"I'm Raven, what's your name?" she asked him, hoping it would bring him out of hiding. "I-I don't tell strangers! Mommy says it's bad. You're a stranger, you shouldn't be here." he said, a hint of anger in his small voice. "It's okay, Where is your mom? Maybe she has seen my friend and then I can be on my way." This was going no where. If there was a adult figure here in Beast Boys mind maybe she would get a bit further. "Out." he stammered, "Oh, can you take me to her?" she asked him, hoping this conversation that was getting no-where would go somewhere. "No! Daddy'll get mad, no one goes to the lab but them!" he stated. Raven sighed, "Fine. I will find them myself then." She got up and turned to leave, this was going no where. "Wait! Daddy'll get really angry! He don't like it when I bug 'im at work! Please don't bug 'im!" the boy had ran out from his hiding spot and taken a hold of Ravens cloak, tugging it to keep her from leaving. This action startled her a bit but at least the boy had came out.

For the first time she had a good look at him, he was looking up at her with blue eyes that were complimented by his sandy blonde hair. He was dressed in a dirty pair of jean shorts and muddy hiking boots and his green shirt had small smears of dirt where the boy had liked "dusted" his hands off. A grey elephant was squished under his armpit, an eye missing and stuffing hanging here and there-evidence of either an immense amount of love or too much rough housing. Raven assume the first, seeing as he clung to it as if it was the only important thing he had. She sighed, "Okay, I won't bother your parents but you need to help me. Do you know where Beast Boy went? Maybe you know him? He's green and can turn into animals." She told him, kneeling down to his level, he looked familiar but she still couldn't place it. "I think I'da remember a grween person," he said, stuttering a bit, "Whys he green?" he asked, curiosity filling his eyes. It was an odd question, why was Beast Boy green? Because he was. He was? That was a funny thought for Raven, being questioned about why the changeling was green, she had never really thought of him as not being green. "He just is." she told the boy, who still had a hold of her cloak, "You can let go of that now," she looked to his small hand which clung to the dark fabric, "Oh, sowwy." he said, dropping it immediately. "Well, I am going to go now, I have to find Beast Boy." she told him. "Oh okay," the small voice said, "You can come back here later if ya wanna, I think mommy'll have dinner done soon." he said, kicking up a small dust cloud. Raven nodded, not really caring to come back. "Thank you but I have to go." she said, annoyed with the waste of time this little blonde boy had been.

She began to rise off the ground, figuring she might be able to see Beast Boy from the sky, she looked down at the campsite where she had left the boy standing there watching her in awe. He gave a small wave as she flew a bit higher, "My name is Garfield."

Raven stopped mid-flight. _"My name is Garfield." _


	6. Chapter 6

_"My name is Garfield." _

The instant Raven heard the name-_his_ name she stopped. Of course, the little boy would be Beast Boy. Of course he would be there because it was part of him.Suddenly excited she turned to look where the small child had been- but something was wrong. There was no longer a clearing with a small cabin, that tiny fireplace, or the scattered toys amongst the dirt. There was no longer any sign of life and there was no longer Garfield.

"Beast Bo- Garfield?", she cried, hoping the boy would come out from the now deep jungle brush. "Garfield, it's me Raven... We're friends remember? Come out of hiding!" There was no response. Scolding herself, Raven made her way to the ground hoping to find traces of life. She walked towards a small river that had appeared beneath the trees and looked into the water. It was surprisingly clear and she could see her reflection staring back at her. "_Raven you have to find him, the others are counting on you." _she could hear Knowledge telling her, the other emotions pleaded along. "I know I have to find him... I'll just have to keep looking." she retorted to the many voices crowding inside her mind.

The empath looked back into the water, ignoring her reflection this time. The water ran smoothly along the rocks that sat on the bottom of the shallow bed but there were no fish to enjoy its gentle movements. She took a drink, hoping the water was okay and then continued to travel upstream. The small river lead her further into the brush where small paths could be seen. They almost looked as if they had been hacked away here and there over time, weather it was from a person or an animal she couldn't tell. A sudden screeched pierced the silence that surround the girl, followed by a scream.

A wave of extreme pain washed over Raven as she fell to the ground, grasping her arm. Something was wrong- Something was happening inside of Beast Boys mind and the pain he had experienced in the past was now spreading to her soul self, making her aware of what he had been through. She tried to not let it affect her but the feeling was strange... "MARK! Garfields been hurt! Hurry!". Raven wasn't sure who the voice belonged to but she had to get to them, Beast Boy was hurt. She slowly got up from where she was sitting and tried to fly- the pain however didn't allow that and she had to go on foot. Raven ran, as fast as she could to where the sound was. The small dirt paths were helpful to her and guided her exactly where she needed to be. Still holding her arm she emerged into a small canopy of trees where a small domed building sat, She presumed the lab the boy had told her about.

"Hello?" the purple haired girl called, she could see two adults rushing into the building with a small boy clutched in the womans arms. Quickly, she persued the figures but found they didn't see her or really care if she was there. "Marie," the man started as he laid the boy upon a small bed, "He's been bit... by, by, the green monkey!". Raven picked up on that one key word, Green. Had he turned green because he was bit by a green monkey? She thought she had something figured out about the changeling but then everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

Raven woke up finding herself laying on the floor of the lab, still unseen by the others. The lady-whom Raven had discovered was Marie, was sitting beside the bed holding the small boys hand.

"Mark? Is he-"

"I don't know Marie... It's Sakutia... only time will tell." the man interrupted. Raven sat up and looked towards the man the voice had come from. Almost instantly she recognized his facial features to be very similar to Beast Boys. This had to be his dad, but his parents were Steve and Rita, weren't they? That's how Beast Boy had introduced them when they had gotten together at the Dayton mansion for dinner once. It was strange, thinking of the green titan as a normal child with parents who weren't the Doom Patrol. As far as any of the titans were concerned those were his parents. Sitting here in this room however, Raven realized that these two people were his parents, not the Doom Patrol. The Young Garfield Dayton (as the butler at the mansion had called him) was actually not a Dayton but someone else entirely.

Trying to remove herself from her thoughts she found the pain in her arm had completely disappeared, but she could tell there was still something wrong with the boy. She stood up, knowing she was invisible to the adult figures in the room and walked over to see Garfield. He looked like he was peacefully sleeping and... he was green. Whatever had happened during the time she had blacked out had turned him green. She looked at him, wondering if this was how his life had taken place and if he was trapped somewhere between reality and this world of memories he was lost inside of. Raven knew from her studies that some minds were built on solely memories one had lived through in life and that pain could be felt if it was of great depth for the minds owner. She also knew minds could be built on the idea of fantasies, an escape from the real horrors of life. Only time and deeper digging would show if this was his creation or his past. She had slightly hoped that this was all a fantasy he created and that he was just born with his powers into the Dayton family. She figured something bad had happened between him and the patrol, otherwise Beast Boy wouldn't have become a titan. Or would he? There were lots of possibilities that could've been, only time would tell exactly what had transpired in the changelings life.

Raven walked out of the lab, breathing in a breathe of the jungle air. "Where am I? Where did you come from Beast Boy?" she asked, hoping his familiar face would pop out from behind a tree telling her everything. None of the titans knew this information, in fact she wondered if he even had kept anything from his past. If that man was his dad what had happened to him? Was he just somehow related? No. That wasn't so, the boy had precisely referred to the people at the lab as mommy and daddy. Raven knew she had a lot of digging to do before she'd be able to find him. The half-demon looked around one last time hoping that if she left she would be able to find this place in his mind again. "I'm sorry Beast Boy, I have to leave now... I'll be back for you, promise." she whispered.

* * *

><p>Ravens soul self connected with her body, allowing her to return to the real world. Opening her eyes she found that the night had grown dark and the others were not in the room. A stead beep was still calling out and the monitors on the screen were still charting the boys bodily functions. There was still no sign of brain activity. Raven moved towards her communicator, flipping open the screen, "Cyborg, are you up?" she glanced to the time, 3:22 am. She waited for a while before a half asleep robot came through the swishing doors.<p>

"Hey Rae..." Cyborg yawned, "You alright?" he looked to Beast Boy, "Didn't find him huh?" he asked with a hint of disappointment.

"No, I didn't. I need to access the files on Beast Boy." she stated.

"Those are supposed to be restricted," he started, but was stopped by the look on her face. "Okay, but you didn't get them from anyone..." The metal teen pressed a button on his arm, letting a small flash drive pop up, "Don't lose this... you can use it on the computer in his room."

"Thank you.". Raven gave Beast Boy a quick glance before heading out of the medical wing, she knew Cyborg would look after him for the moment and she needed answers.

* * *

><p><em>"TITAN FILE 004: Beast Boy<em>

_Full Name: Garfield Dayton_

_Birthplace: unknown_

_DOB: unknown_

_Current Age: 17_

_SSN: unknown_

_Race: unknown_

_Legal Guardian: Steve & Rita Dayton_

_Power(s): Shapeshifting_

_Medical History: unknown_

_Allergies: unknown_

_Notes: Shape shifts to animals, problems controlling large animals. Worked alongside The Doom Patrol."_

* * *

><p>Raven sighed. Beast Boys file was basically empty. Looking at the last name Dayton she knew it was wrong. The man in Beast Boys head was his father, and he didn't look a thing like Steve. No birthdate was listed and the thought that they had never celebrated a birthday for Beast Boy took her by a bit of a surprise. He had always gone out of his way to have a small party for the others but none had returned the favor for him. The only reason she knew his age is because he had been a titan for five years. Rita had told them he ran away when he was twelve, meaning that the only correct information in the file was his first name and his current age.<p>

"This isn't anything new", She rested her head against her hand, a strand of purple hair falling into her view. She looked around the changelings room, taking in the different items he had stacked here and there. Across the room she saw his beat up alarm clock, the time flashing 4:52 AM. In the other corner sat some clothes and a few Superman comics. Above his desk was a bulletin board with different things: pictures of the team, a scrawled out phone number for the pizza place, and some newspaper clippings of the titans good deeds. She smiled as she looked through the random things in his desk drawers, who knew he had actually used a desk? The top drawer contained his mini-comic, partially colored in with crayon. There were some files in the bottom drawer, and in the top drawer were pencils and some hidden candy. Backing herself up from the desk she felt something underneath the lip of the center drawer. Moving his desk lamp so she could see Raven discovered a small key taped to the bottom. "Only Beast Boy would hide a key in a place this obvious." she stated flatly to his rooms contents. The half-demon removed the key, looking at it's small size and awkward shape. She didn't know what it went to but hoped it would yield some hidden clues.

Looking back to the clock she yawned, finally letting sleep creep in. Raven turned to the door and headed back to the med bay, flash drive in one hand and the key held secretly in the other. "Cyborg," she questioned as the doors swished open, "here's this." she said as she handed him the drive, "I'm going to try to rest and meditate a bit, I'm pretty tired." The metal titan looked down at her, "You deserve it Raven, don't worry. I'll watch him." he smiled slightly, "I'll let you know if anything happens." She just nodded her thanks, it was time to let sleep take over for a bit so she had a clear head and could think about everything that had transpired. She had to help him, even if it took forever.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun crept slowly over the horizon as Raven meditated on the previous days adventures. She had never thought in a million years that Beast Boy would've been this secretive about his past. She thought back to the Doom Patrol and how the changeling had said it was just something he "did once". How you could feel the tension between him and Mento when they were together.

She thought about the people in his mind and the place that he had created inside there. The dark girls mind was somewhat similar in that they had both revolved around places that represented themselves well, hers a dark mystical place and his... deep jungles filled with mystery and adventures. It fit him perfectly.

Her alarm went off, letting her know it was 8 a.m. She waved her hand slightly, using her powers to turn the small chirping off. She hadn't slept much but her meditation was somewhat relaxing after everything that had transpired and with her new found energy she set off to the medical bay, hoping for some better news.

When she arrived the others were sitting around, talking about the police report that was filed and the damage reports from the city. It was the usual except for the addition of Beast Boys incident, nothing had ever happened like that to a titan. Robin had his head resting in his hand, a frustrated look on his masked face, "Ugh, How am I supposed to know how to file an incident report about not taking him to the hospital? He's a titan. We have our own hospital." the leader grunted. Cyborg laughed at the statement, "Since when do we go to hospitals? Those are for regular people... and greenie here definitely isn't normal. Heck, We'd take him to a vet first!" Raven looked around as the others let out a few giggles, remembering the first time they took Beast Boy to the vet. It didn't end very well and it was probably the first and last time the vet would see any of the titans again-or at least that was their hope.

The continuous beeping still rang through the room, making its presence known. Raven flew over to where the changeling laid, resting a hand on his arm. Remembering the searing pain she had felt yesterday she looked a bit closer, trying to look for any clues as to his minds story. After looking for a bit she found exactly what she was looking for, two small scars-perfectly spaced from each other, almost like a snake bite. Raven knew it wasn't from a snake however, it was from the green monkey. A "Hmm" escaped her lips, alerting the others to her close examination, "Raven? What is reason for your hmming and inspection of Beast Boys arm?" she heard Starfire inquire. Slowly setting his arm back against his side she turned to the alien princess, "Oh, just something I was shown while inside his mind. I have a lot to tell you guys but I need to find out more to piece together everything... I'm not sure what we're dealing with." Raven answered truthfully. It was true, she didn't know what was going on or if she was going to find Beast Boy safe in the depths of his own mind or if he had completely vanished into memories. She didn't want to tell his story or secrets without at least a mental allowance from him as it wasn't her story to tell. Looking back at Beast Boy she let a small smile grace her face for a brief second, "Fitting place Beast Boy..." she told him before leaving the room.

* * *

><p>As the day went by the dark girl found curiosity getting the better of her. The key she had found was an odd shape and had to go to something that Beast Boy currently owned, the question was what. Raven teleported from her room into his, letting his smell greet her as she entered. Looking to the messy floor she let out a small grumble, "This place is a mess...". A quick chant later she had things off the floor and in places they should be. Clothes were tossed into the hamper (which she didn't know he had), pizza boxes and old candy wrappers were thrown into the garbage, the rug was shaken outside the window, and his bed was made. It wasn't very often she was in his room (who wanted to be in a animal filled garbage pit?) but being in here where he always was helped her feel more connected to him. Looking out the window she realized why he had fought everyone for this room. The view out of his window was perfect. The ocean waves were gently lapping against the skyscraper lined beaches, and the sky shone bright into the room, allowing for her to not need the ceiling lights on. The breeze came in just enough to keep things cool inside his room as well. She smiled, Beast Boy was always watching the sun set from his window and it was just the kind of view that was required to do so.<p>

With the room cleaned to her standards she began to look through his closet, not finding anything the small key would open. The rounded edges and one spoke looked like a luggage key, but there wasn't any luggage that she saw. She looked through his desk again, moving papers to see if there was a small keyhole hidden in the panels like her desk. Nothing. The only place left was under his bed. About a year ago he had removed the bunk beds, settling for the typical full-sized beds. It didn't have anyway to put things underneath however, instead it sat on a box spring with built in drawers. She pulled each one out, finding comics, food, old case files, and CDs all mixed in with them. Nothing that the key would fit in. Defeated, she let out a sigh and plopped down onto his bed. _Thunk. _A solid sound came from the center of the bed which was odd, seeing as the placement of the drawers wouldn't have met in the center. An idea came to her and she rose off the bed, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she chanted, lifting the mattress off it's perch.

Situated perfectly in between the drawers and sides of the beds frame sat an old beat up suitcase. Raven smiled, this was it. With a wave of her hand the suitcase was moved and the bed place gently back in place. A bit of excitement crossed her face, "Didn't think you were this good at hiding things Beast Boy." she told the suitcase. Raven lifted it onto the bed, whatever the contents it was a bit heavy and the handle let out a rusty creaking noise as she held it. She picked the key off of the desk and put it into the small keyhole, "Here goes nothing." she added to no one.

Raven turned the key to the right and was rewarded with the slight clicking sound of the lock. The brown and yellow suitcase sat waiting to be opened. She quickly put the key aside and opened up the old suitcases lid. It smelled musty, but inside was Beast Boys story waiting to be told. There were rolled up newspapers, tickets, the remnants of what looked like a blanket, and a very weathered book. Raven looked at everything for a moment, feeling her emotions excitement, fear, and anticipation for what these things meant to the green boy. Raven gently picked up the old book and set it in her lap, readying herself for whatever mystery it held. "I'm sorry to invade your personal things Beast Boy, but it's the only way I can help you.".

Raven opened up the cover, "The Logan Family" was written neatly on the first page, "_This is it...He's a Logan." _she thought proudly to herself for the discovery. Over the course of the pages were parts of newspaper clippings from S.T.A.R. Labs, things about his parents research, the birth of Garfield Logan, how he was raised in the jungles of Africa.

"Africa... that explains the jungles." she muttered, while reading through the stories written on the pages. An occasional chuckle could be heard escaping her lips at a small exerpt about Gar getting stuck in the mud with a photo to its left. Turning halfway through the book she turned to a taped-up photo that had been damaged by water. There was a man, a woman, and on top of the mans shoulders was Garfield. The same Garfield she had seen inside Beast Boys mind. She ran a finger over him, "Why didn't you tell us who you were?" she asked him. His parents were world renown scientists who had help cure diseases for all sorts of different countries, in fact, his parents were considered heros to lots of people. She wondered if Cyborgs parents had worked alongside Beast Boys, being they also worked for S.T.A.R., however this brought up more questions, How did Beast Boy become green? Sakutia wasn't curable from what little she knew about the foreign disease. A newspaper clipping further on in the book revealed his parents had saved him, using a new genetic breakthrough between animal and human DNA. His life was saved and the green pigment of his skin was the side effect.

As Raven continued to turn through the pages she began to understand a bit more about their animalistic friend. It seemed he was always getting himself into trouble, and she couldn't help but laugh at the small drawings that were pasted in places. She sat the book down for a minute, looking at the other items in the suitcase. in the corner underneath the blanket was the elephant Beast Boy had in his mind. She gave the ratty thing a small hug, "Oh Beast Boy, I'm sorry we've neglected you. You've always been so interested to learn about us and we haven't spent any time getting to know about you.". She looked back to the book, noticing a few things sticking out at the back. One was a birth certificate, "Garfield Mark Logan born April 22nd" it read. Raven figured he must have been born during his parents research trip. He couldn't have been born in a more fitting place, the stories told just how energetic and adventurous he was as a child. There was a page with things written on it in Swahili, it made her wonder if Beast Boy understood and could speak the language. As far as she knew English was his first language but now she questioned it.

The last thing she came upon was an old newspaper clipping from twelve years ago, the bolded letters brought a small gasp from Ravens lips, "_**Logan family killed in tragic accident**_". The clipping went on to say how the families research boat was found in pieces littering the rivers around one of the larger waterfalls in Africa. The bodies were never recovered and their research was left unfinished. Raven pulled the paper off to continue reading on the back side, she was stopped however by two words written on the books page, "_I'm sorry." _It was hard to make out, but Raven knew it had to be Beast Boys writing. If pain was something that could be felt from the words, she felt it. A tear escaped her eye, making its way onto the small elephant sitting in her lap. All the happiness that shined in the photos and stories in the book was all but a fairy tale with a horrid ending. Something was missing though, How had Beast Boy survived? Did the Doom Patrol find him during a mission? Only Beast Boy would be able to give her those answers, as she didn't feel it was her place to go snooping around to the patrol. "I'm going to find out exactly what happened to you Gar, and bring you back to us..." she vowed.

As she began to place the things back into his suitcase the alarm rang, alerting the team to a new attack on the city...

* * *

><p>an:

Hi! I know this is somewhat maybe a boring chapter, just trying to get through some of this... things are better and yea. So R/R and hopefully I'll have some more for you soon :) And yes, I am still working with Gars original backstory, it's too amazing to not use it. Will be tweaked and molded into a bit more depth of course. anyways, thanks dudes!

later days!


End file.
